I've read so many stories about people who worked in the corporate world, striving for promotions and dealing with office politics, and I realize how "lucky" I was, in the sense that I never worked in corporate settings. I was a journalist for a while, I worked in non-profits, then I spent most of my career working as one kind of designer or another.

Not that I didn't have ambition—I wanted to improve my design skills, get recognized by my peers, and loved it when an article I wrote made it to the front page—but I just never wanted to be a manager or move into management. Perhaps it was because I grew up in a blue collar home where success was defined as being able to work fewer hours, not more.

I also never really bought into the whole beauty industry thing. I barely wore make-up. I couldn't imagine spending hundreds of dollars on skin care products. My skin looks like someone much younger, and all I did was wash my face with Dove soap and spend very little time in the sun.

I retired two years ago next week, and I enjoy having my schedule under my control. Despite what friends would have thought, who knew me when I was working as a designer and being totally into that role, I haven't missed working. Do I sometimes miss being asked for my thinking on a design challenge? Sure. But my last job didn't entail much in the way of visual design. It had already been many years of not doing work I could enter into design competitions.

Now I get to do art anyway I want to. My days are pretty full with artmaking, writing, pickleball, occasional volunteering. I wish I had a life partner to enjoy retirement with. I have my down spells. But I had those when I was working, and had to drag myself to work anyway.

I definitely have narrowed my life to the "real friends" and find moments of joy and happiness interacting with women in my fiber arts club, or chatting up fellow pickleballers or even just grocery store clerks.

Since I still have a profile on LinkedIn, they send me messages notifying me to "Don't miss out on a conversation in [some field I was active in]!" and they go in the Trash. It's OK, LinkedIn, I'm missing out and I don't care!